Volunteer Fire Assistance

VFA Program

The Tennessee Department of Agriculture, Division of Forestry will be accepting grant applications for the 2025 Volunteer Fire Assistance (VFA) Program beginning October 1^st through October 31^st , 2024.  Fire departments that serve a population of less than 10,000 will be eligible to apply to receive a VFA Wildland Fire Suppression Kit for their department to supplement their wildland firefighting capacity. These kits will consist of wildland firefighting personal protective equipment (PPE) and tools valued at approximately $3,000 per kit.

Before participating in this program, a fire department must be legally organized and have a current Memorandum of Understanding with the Division of Forestry that is dated after June 30, 2018. If you do not have one, please contact the Assistant District Forester in your area.

Kits will be awarded in February 2025.

Wildland Fire Training for Fire Departments

Division of Forestry personnel also coordinates and facilitates wildland fire training for fire departments across the state of Tennessee. This training includes such topics as wildland fire behavior, wildland fire organizational structure, suppression tactics, leadership, cooperative fire mutual aid and wildland urban interface strategies.

Training materials and tools may also be provided to fire departments that participate in these training programs. This training is provided according to National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG) position performance standards for wildland firefighting. To schedule wildland fire training for your department, please contact the Assistant District Forester in your area.